Update: @haleyformi.bsky.social has formally conceded to @abdulelsayed.bsky.social and has pledged her full support to help him defeat Mike Rogers in November. (not posted here yet)
this old Haus
@thisoldhaus.bsky.social
Retired newspaper reporter/writer. History nerd.
Trump "calls off" attack on Iran he wasn't actually doing, claiming the "perimeters" of a deal he doesn't actually have. This makes a third time around the cycle.
Nicholas Grossman@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 2w ago
Capital One Financial hits back against a lawsuit over its decision to close the Trump Organization's bank accounts years ago with a disclosure that marks the first time a bank has formally tied money laundering concerns to the US president's family business. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Capital One says it closed Trump Organization's accounts after anti-money laundering probe
The disclosure marks the first time a bank has formally tied money laundering concerns to Trump's family business.
reuters.com
First it was "Bronx" without "the," now the NBC obit for actor Vincent Pastore says he was from "New York City's Bronx neighborhood." Big neighborhood.
So will David Hearn get a payment from Trump’s $1.776 billion weaponization fund for his reflecting-pool false prosecution by Jeanine Pirro?
Priceless montage of Trump lying that vandals cut up the reflecting pool.
Gift link, because you’ll want to read this whole thing: In a 19-page filing, [Pirro’s] office undermined everything Trump has been saying about damage to the Reflecting Pool. “The damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism,” her office wrote in a motion to dismiss the case.
How the Reflecting Pool Vandalism Case Fell Apart
Federal prosecutors searched for evidence and found that “a botched installation” was to blame.
theatlantic.com
The filing goes into granular detail about how the Rhino 406 and the Pipeliner 5000 coatings were misapplied, and the expansion joints weren't properly sealed, and weather hampered the job. Not a single mention of a 9-vehicle Trump motorcade driving across the pool floor. His limo weighs 20,000 lbs.
The NYT gets a lot of sometimes deserved flak here, but the lede of this story properly starts with the truth that the damage was from a botched installation by "the contractors hired by the Trump administration." The revised headline, too, makes that point (unlike the one showing here).
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 5d agoBreaking News: Prosecutors are dropping charges against an Olympian accused of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool, saying damage was due to “botched” renovations.
FLASH: Justice Dept seeks to dismiss Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool criminal case against former Olympian David Hearn Trump Admin acknowledges: "Damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor"
And just like that, Bill Pulte scuttles back into the basement of one of his dad’s subdivision homes.
Ruin a book by adding a word: For Whom the Taco Bell Tolls
Block Me Amadeus@blockmeamadeus.bsky.social · 2w agoRuin a book by adding a word: Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret Thatcher
NEW: In a stunning admission, the Trump administration admitted in court documents that it canceled billions in energy grants to states "based solely" on politics -- and whether that state was represented by Democrats and backed Harris in 2024. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him
Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.
nytimes.com
3:11 pm Buckley: The Government is prepared unilaterally to withdraw the subpoenas at this time. If under Gonzalez we find it appropriate to seek new subpoenas, we'll come to the court. Judge: Moving forward, we would have the issues that have plagued it so far
I'm getting the feeling this hearing about the subpoenas of NYT reporters isn't going well for the DOJ
Inner City Press@innercitypress.bsky.social · 2w agoJudge: You didn't tell the judge that the subpoena was about reporters, about the New York Times? Sullivan: We did not. It was an oversight. Later we did legal research. Judge: Wouldn't it have been relevant to know there had been public reporting? A: Yes
Henceforth November 11 shall be known as Warfighters Day
Good. The MAGA nutbags (Andy Biggs, Alexander Kolodin) won the major statewide Republican primaries in Arizona. As a former resident of that purple state -- we were there for the first Trump term and a few months beyond -- I know they're easiest to beat.
![Tweet from atrophy wife 🎀 (@zuza_real):
Y'all still follow Jonathan Swift? The man who literally supports eating babies?
(some time later)
Obviously the whole time I knew he was joking but it's still not okay. Here's why [1/20]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:w4mumltio4x5yohskj2mo64c/bafkreicdipjn4fyrvxkv75lf2mnfnj7p55ofbo7y36ghxj5zqe6ruml77a)
Three-eighths done. Eighteen months down, thirty to go.
New — Two US soldiers were killed and one is missing after Iran launched retaliatory ballistic missile strikes into Jordan on Friday, per CENTCOM